Close Enough Review: Quilty Pleasures / The Perfect House

"Nice family, loser."

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Alright, so this is a little bit awkward. About a month ago I wrote a review of the episode of Close Enough that aired at Annecy, "100% No Stress Day," under the impression that it was the series premiere and critiquing it as such. It turns out that was actually... the sixth episode of the season, but I'll reiterate some of my points from there.

As someone who absolutely adores JG Quintel's previous project, Regular Show, Close Enough is both an exercise in wish fulfillment and a fairly risky gambit. I'd like to think of it as "Regular Show after hours"; the show has nothing to hide and no age rating to hold it back from running as wild as it wants, and that's a double-edged sword that both of these episodes, "Quilty Pleasures" especially, still seem to be feeling out. With that, too, there's a sense of maturity under which the show operates, reaffirmed by the ideas driving the show: if Regular Show is an ode to young adulthood and doing whatever you want, Close Enough is about getting shit together and taking care of those around you.

That's a theme emphasized strongly in "Quilty Pleasures," and it makes for a fitting premiere even if it's far from the smoothest ride. It follows a fairly straightforward premise, revolving around Emily and Josh frantically trying to assemble a quilt patch for Candice's class project, but more than anything else, it's a simple case study in how the two characters interact and react off of each other and the world around them. In that regard, I think it's a success.

Amphibia Review: Anne or Beast? / Best Fronds

"Guys! I just had the craziest dream where I was trapped in a world of frog pe— Oh. Right."

Amphibia is a show that I've been patiently awaiting for the past year, which is something of a rarity for me. Although I'm someone who generally likes to think that he keeps his tabs on animation, there's not a lot of projects that have filled me with as much excitement as this one.

We're in what I feel like is a very transitional era in cartoons. This is a point where it's becoming clear which shows in the past few years were the true trend-setters, and a point where animation is becoming increasingly serialized, more intent on telling a longer narrative with dramatic twists and turns that allows for deeper character investment as opposed to the zanier, episodic antics of cartoon's past. There's also been more pushes for diversity in the voices of those creating animated programming, and Amphibia is no exception. It's culled from the mind of Matt Braly, a half-Thai former storyboard artist for Gravity Falls and Steven Universe, basing the show off of his childhood experiences of visiting Bangkok.

Although the influence of the show off of his childhood is currently more subdued (it'll play more of a hand in the show as the season progresses), that sense of being a fish out of a water in a strange world is retained, and the creation of animation's first Thai-American protagonist, Anne Boonchuy (voiced by Brenda Song), is an exciting development: as a person of half-Asian descent myself, let alone also being named Matt, Amphibia had me sold from the start. It helps, too, that if the first two episodes are any indication, we're in for the start of a wonderful new show.

Final Space: Chapters One and Two Review

"I am going to MURDER your face off!" "I will murder your face... on?!" "That doesn't make any sense!"

There's not a single content creator I will ever have more enthusiasm for than Olan Rogers. He's everything the universe needs right now; charismatic, engaging, and hysterical, and his penchant for story-telling and manic comedic instincts are unrivaled. Sufficed to say, I'm proud to see someone like him, who works his butt off to make people laugh, finally got his due in something that he's always wanted to do: create television. And, for the most part, it works.

Now, as a self-important idiot standing on my humble soapbox, I have specific issues that I want to tackle, but as a disclaimer: I do think Final Space is good, and I do believe in its potential. Early episodes, after all, will always struggle a bit when you put into consideration how much they have to do–establishing the characters, setting the tone, and creating the universe of the show is a pretty tall order.

The first two episodes weren't rough, but they did have rough patches. However, I want to make the distinction that I think Final Space is reparable, so bear with me for a little while.